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Mon Schools Transportation Needs To Get Up To Speed

December 16, 2010 — newcommunityschool

TIME TO END THE NEGLIGENCE AND THE RIDICULOUS EXCUSES

Monongalia County Schools Director of Transportation Irv Schuetzner interviewed on WAJR on Wednesday December 15: audio link. Mon Schools needs to do better than this. First, the Director said a hiring bonus for badly needed new drivers could not be given because it would not be fair to current drivers. You have a crisis, Director, that is, the kids have a crisis: there are no drivers often to get the students home at a decent time. Or to get them to some extracurricular events. Therefore, give ALL the drivers a $1,000 bonus or more, even much more, including new hires. That should help all around, and guess what: it’s fair! Mon Schools obviously has the money. If they can blow several million on an unneeded new school site, then they can certainly spend $100,000 or $200,000 or more to help solve a busing crisis. Second, it’s dishonest for the Director to say that the bus drivers have no answers for the Director’s problems. Who is he to speak for them? One answer was given above. Listening to the drivers’ suggestions and solutions on routing and scheduling, and on safety in routing, would solve other problems. Further, as reminder, the Director, should recheck the Woodburn website to remind himself of how the bus drivers forced him to solve the problems of overcrowding on buses and of safety in busing. Third, there are ways to reduce student discipline problems on buses, which could also bring in more drivers: hire aides to ride periodically on buses, when requested by the drivers, that are having discipline problems. That way, the aides can keep order, allowing the drivers to drive. Drivers who don’t have discipline problems don’t need to request aides, but aides should be there on the occasions when drivers request them. We look forward to a future WAJR show featuring bus drivers, and maybe their union representatives, as guests.